Commissioner rises to defense of Cubs owners

Bud Selig says its unfair rooftop owners are holding up Wrigley Field renovation: 'Somebody has to say it's wrong'

April 23, 2014|By Paul Sullivan, Tribune reporter

The Ricketts family celebrated a big victory Wednesday night at the Cubs' charity function, only a few hours after marking the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field with a trademark-worthy loss.

There was the obligatory bullpen meltdown, a critical Starlin Castro bobble, an unfortunate single that ricocheted off second base and another blown game for Jeff Samardzija, who could become the first Cubs pitcher selected to an All-Star game without the benefit of a victory.

It was such an irresistibly Cubs-like loss that seemingly everyone remaining in the ballpark nodded to each other while the calamity was unfolding in the ninth, feeling no other outcome really would be appropriate.

But for the Rickettses, the moment that mattered came much earlier, in the bottom of the fourth. That's when Commissioner Bud Selig made his way into the press box lunch room to give a rousing and sometimes comical defense of the Cubs' owners, who still are battling with rooftop owners over disputes regarding their 2004 agreement.

Selig said he will do "whatever is legally" possible to help the Cubs get their $300 million ballpark renovation plan underway.

"That's how strongly I feel about preserving Wrigley Field," he said. "You can't ask a team to be competitive and you can't ask people to do things and then tie their hands and their legs. It's just wrong. Somebody has to say it's wrong, and I'm going to say it."

Selig did not pound his fist, but he might as well have. Of course, there really is little Selig can do unless he can get the city to declare eminent domain and tear down the buildings on Waveland and Sheffield avenues. Otherwise, the commissioner of baseball has no say in this legal tussle.

The battle between the Cubs and the rooftop owners is all about money, and until the Cubs agree on some kind of financial settlement, they probably will have the threat of a lawsuit hanging over their heads.

Selig pretended the contract was something that blindsided the Cubs' owners.

"This is a team trying to stay in this historic setting in a really tough economic environment, trying to modernize without disturbing the tradition, trying to build a competitive baseball team … and I think they're doing it," he said. "But you can't impose conditions on them that nobody else has, because nobody else has those (conditions)."

True. But the Cubs signed the contract, agreeing to those conditions.

"Well, whatever the contract is, whatever they have to do on that score, fine," he said. "But you can't tell them 'Stay in this setting, but you can't put this up. You can't put that up. You can't do that.' And yet people can watch your games under conditions that don't exist anywhere else that really hurt a franchise, and tell me that's fair."

But that's what contracts do — they stipulate things. In this case the contract says the Cubs can't block their views, and the rooftop owners have to give the franchise 17 percent of their revenues.

"Well, this ownership didn't (agree)," Selig said. "They're willing to do whatever their contract says. But I feel very strongly about that."